Jan. 13--Nobody can do it like McDonald's can.
But now that the embattled burger chain has gotten our attention, reminding us that it's not just a part of the landscape but a part of our world -- a constant, come hell or high water or come hell and high water -- what will it actually do?
Many are lovin' the new ads.
Some seem to flat-out hate them.
The triumph for McDonald's is that people feel anything at all.
The latest commercials will have served their purpose and then some if they do nothing for McDonald's but remind those in the great middle ground of America that they have memories and feelings about the fast-food giant quite apart from hot-button issues so often heard of late, such as raising the minimum wage and childhood obesity.
You've seen the TV spots, right?
In addition to a playful animated montage of pop-culture enemies dropping their enmity over fries, drinks and burgers as well as an ironically sardonic salute to the Big Mac, the somewhat controversial, very sentimental one invoking memories of terrorism on 9/11 and the Boston Marathon.
But this campaign, unveiled not quite a year after Oak Brook-based McLeadership's installation of Deborah Wahl as head of U.S. marketing, is just the first move in a vital chess game for a company eager to regain the swagger befitting the biggest fast-food chain on earth.
"The challenge for brands is that it's often easier to fix the advertising than it is to fix the core proposition," said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "Developing great advertising is hard but its not that difficult. The tough part comes when you really try to figure out the menu board, which items do we keep and which do we get rid of.
"McDonald's has been so battered by negative news on all sides that it really has struggled. What's encouraging about this campaign is that they clearly have found a way to break through the clutter."
The problem for any marketer popping up and out from the crowd, however, is a Whac-a-Mole mentality that can await it. It's also a challenge to avoid taking even a good idea and running it into the ground. (Yes, I'm looking at all you Rob Lowes.)
It's a legitimate complaint, though not universally shared, that there's something untoward about trying to peddle cheeseburgers and fries by recalling tragedies and disasters. All advertising plays on one psychological cue or another. If you feel the manipulation went too far, that's a danger McDonald's -- like any other marketer -- must accept.
"This is the new world of marketing and marketers," Calkins said. "If they're going to do something that stands out, then they have to be OK with this kind of feedback. The key is that anything you do today in marketing has to be real.
"The reaction to this McDonald's (signs) spot is so interesting because people have really commented strongly on both sides of it. The interesting thing is you see people standing up for McDonald's on social media. That's a surprising dynamic to watch. This isn't a case where an ad came out that offended people and the company apologized and took it off the air. This is a case where some people didn't like it but other people said it was terrific."
But there's a reason why McDonald's restaurants are so often seen in coverage of floods, tornadoes and earthquakes. It's because they're a symbol of normalcy. If they're underwater or in ruins, it's a short-hand for everything else that's been upended or destroyed.
McDonald's food may never get raves. It's unlikely to be seen as trendy. It's common enough to almost be seen as a utility. But in its ubiquity, it owns a place in the American consciousness, so why not build on that?
It's been almost a dozen years since McDonald's adopted the slogan, "I'm Lovin' It," repeating it so often for so long that it lost all meaning. Breathe new life into the line and reviving the "lovin' " are separate matters, of course.
"It's so easy at McDonald's to create ads that just blend in," Calkins said. "It's hard to say something about McDonald's that people really notice. If there's one thing to be said about this current campaign, it's that people have noticed it and it has prompted a reaction."
This is a brand that wants and needs to go from simply being everywhere to always being with you, a critical shift for a company in the midst of a critical transition. Its stock price, sales figures and image are all in need of a bounce.
It actually may be poised to do so, regardless of what it does with moves such as a streamlining its menus. The company is coming up on the soft financial benchmarks of a year ago, offering a beneficial comparison. It also should benefit from would-be customers driving around with extra spending money thanks to low gas prices.
"They are due for a positive uptick," Calkins said. "The challenge, though, is that getting people to feel good about McDonald's is different from giving people a reason to stop in. ... That is a lot more difficult. But what's encouraging about this campaign is they've found something about McDonald's that is real and people feel good about and it connects and it matters and that's the first step."
In other words, whatever you think of the ads, the real question is: Do you want fries with that?
philrosenthal@tribpub.com
Twitter @phil_rosenthal
